Hi folks,
I know many of you are just like I am -- struggling for the dream of this language for all these years, with hardly a good language environment. Among all the
secret treasures we may have, perhaps the varied dictionaries are the most helpful and treasurable to us. And many are probably ready to name a few upon seeing
this title: Oxford, Longman, American Heritage, Cambridge, blah blah.
These are, indeed, treasures of knowledge; and each of them alone is enough to make you feel as if you were in heaven. Oxford Advanced Bilingual, precise yet easy-to-understand interpretations and abundant examples; Longman, long seen one
of the most useful, prestigious tools for English learners; Collins Cobuild, most suitable English-English monolingual dictionary for beginners, itself a good reading stuff; American Heritage, adopted by many best-selling for-student eletronic dictionaries for its second-to-none accuracy in interpreting ....
Their printed versions weigh like hell, each is worth a fortune and are individually or collectively, sure to grace your messy study. Expensive as they may be,
the money spent is well worthwhile. The problem is, however, many of them are
not available to everyone, even though you already have the cash ready in your palm. It would be an immeasurable loss if you don't have access to these oceans
of human knowledge.
Miracles occur in this computerized era. Computer version of Kingsoft Dictionary is a household name and an indispensable among English sufferers. A Windows without Kingsoft is beyond our imagination! The market sees dozens of Personal Digital Assistants as well, most of which are actually mere electronic dictionaries. And they are unbelievably popular among parents and "the future of the nation". Nobody tells how much money the business is worth, but I am sure the figure would be astronomical. Even the most well-known Canadian cross-talker in China, that forever smiling Dashan, has a finger in the pie of a product named "E-100", which, the product itself, is unfortunately a disaster. Another hit name is
"Good Memory", which is another version of E-100. The list of other PDAs, traditional ones or brand-new ones, are endless. Those names heard most often include home made ones such as "Wen Qu Xing" (I am sure you know of this, David. :D
), "Nuo Ya Zhou", "Bu Bu Gao", and MingRen; hybrids such as Hao Yi Tong and Kuai
Yi Tong also abound in the competitive arena.
These modern devices all strive to make time with would-be users by showing off
how many kinds of dictionary they have and how many entries each embraces. Some
even integrate a not-that-bad mp3 player with a capacity of 128MB or 256 MB memory. Now that's a fascinating idea. Some adopt a colored display, which is dreadfully attractive to those "fledgling" lads. They are far from inexpensive, though. Hold your wallet tight until you have pored over their upsides and downsides! And think twice and make comparisons before you succumb to their snow jobs
-- as there can be smartly set traps around. One thing you should always keep
in mind is that those radiant TV celebrities can endorse any products only if their palms are scratched with RMB! Use your judgement.
What was that said? All that glitters is not gold. And remember, real treasures never pursue limelight. Mdict, a free software based on Windows Mobile devices such as PPCs and Smartphones, is indeed such an unnamed solitory. Not only has it collected all the above mentioned dictionary gems, it has enrolled what they call the most invaluable thing in this bloody world, WiKi Encyclopedia, Chinese version. English version can be had only if someone's willing to do the converting job.
Think about having all these dictionaries, thesauri and encyclopedias with you all the time wherever you go. Imagine looking up a word in a wide array of dictionaries all at a time by a few screen tappings. Envisage having handy, instant
references when doing your paperwork. Now all you need is a Windows Mobile powered gadget. If you are lucky, used PPCs or smartphones are a good alternative,
too. Palm versions are said to be as good as Windows Mobiles, but well, that's
not my cup of tea. Perhaps you are willing to contribute to this piece to make
it completed.
To make you have a more "tangible" concept about what Mdict is like, follow me and go to this link:
http://club.mypda.com.cn/sp.asp?tid=95905&bcp=1&loc=2
Does this sound alluring to you? Now our dear friend Neil, the dedicated English lover from English-speaing background, has become a real Mdict worshiper no less than I am, maybe you'll be the next. Welcome!
Pan.